The Community 5 with 2010 school-based Big Brother of the year

A.J. Robinson, 2010 School-based Big Brother of the Year, and his Little Brother Sevario made these suggestions for creating a better community.

Read more. Reading leads to less television viewing and creates the ability to think critically. A.J. looks at his cousins and sees them “missing out on a lot of lessons that TV overlooks.”

Get to know new people. A.J. cites being active in church activities and participation in his neighborhood musical showcase as a good way to get to know new people, especially his next door neighbors.

Work together on projects. Whether redoing trails as part of a trail clean-up crew, bagging sand for a coming flood season or doing service projects for widows, working with someone else is one of the best way to get to know someone else, and it provides service to someone in the community.

Look for people who need help. Something as simple as a ride to the airport or carrying groceries can be a big help. Mowing a neighbor’s lawn or making a dinner for someone who may not have time to make it for him- or herself are other suggestions.

Don’t waste energy or water. A.J.’s Little Brother Sevario helped out with this one and threw in a couple of bonus suggestions for making the community better – Recycle more and Use both sides of the paper.

The Community 5 are suggestions for you to take action to make your community better. Viewpoints of the individual may not reflect the viewpoints of the organization they volunteer for.

This article was originally published at examiner.com. Links have been updated August 2016.